Featured Creature: Gift of the Pyxis

Sigurd and Donna were fighting again.  Behind me, at the second table of artifacts, they stood over the ancient box that had been found at the new dig site and all but spat in each others faces.  An inscription translation was the item of contention this time.  I tried to concentrate on translating the runes on the sword in front of me, but they continued to escalate.

Professor Lincoln wasn't at camp today and in his absence they always went after each other.  They had not liked each other from the moment they had met.  A week in the cramped quarters of the base camp had not helped their temperaments at all.  Any professional courtesy had quickly withered until only venomous disagreement remained.  All common ground was lost.

"The inscription clearly calls this chest the Pyxis of Union!"  Sigurd said with derision.  Donna sighed heavily and flipped several pages in her notebook.  She read from her notes and glared back at Sigurd.

"The rune for death and transfiguration is clearly displayed at several key points on the chest.  It is the Pyxis of Death!"

Psyche Delectus: Red Wizard in the Grey Temple

In that forgotten place,
he became the flickering flame
at the heart of the lantern.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Mephisto

I always found something very unsettling about Mephisto whenever he'd show up in a classic Marvel Comics story.  Beyond the fact that the implication was that he was THE Devil, his presentation was always creepy.  All these years I've never been able to put my finger on it exactly.  

UPDATE: Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum

Just a quick heads up from the Psyche Delectus Tenebrarum.  I've added more links for posts from September 2012 - December 2012 at the bottom of the thumbnail gallery and more images to the slideshow.  I hope you enjoy!

Exhumed: Searching The Stars

This piece was always about vastness and immensity, so with the color, I tried to push the depth of the space within the piece further.  Also I feel that with the color I was able to give the figure in the foreground a bit more substance and form as opposed to the heavily designed shapes in the black and white version.  I apologize for the lack of darkness or horror here.  Exhumed is about previous posts and as much as I try to keep Zombie Bites completely dark, sometimes the light just slips in.

{11x14,  Ink and white acrylic with color added in Adobe Photoshop}

From the Archives: Loose Chunky Zombie

Here's another loose zombie sketch with a chunky undead emerging from some bloody chamber of horrors.  With this one I had a bit of trouble getting it scanned.  The original drawing was fairly light and on a heavier stock paper.  This sketch had been folded like several other pieces from this month and the creases were very dramatic in the scan.  I had to play around in Photoshop a bit to erase the creases.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: The Shard

"Nick.  I've found something, something amazing."

Tony looked ill.  His skin was very pale and his eyes had dark circles beneath them.  His hair was disheveled and he had obviously been wearing his wrinkled tee shirt and jeans for several days.  As we walked across campus, he developed a slick sheen of sweat on his face and neck.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"That doesn't matter.  What I found is gonna change everything!"  He raised his arms up as danced around euphorically.

We turned the corner of the mathematics building and moved around the backside, a shortcut through the faculty parking lot to the cafeteria.  The building butted up against a large grassy field at the edge of the university property.  Birds chirped and danced in the sunlit grass. I enjoyed the warm afternoon air despite Tony's cryptic euphoria.

Psyche Delectus: In the Bloodlands

Even the soil weeps
for the imperative horror of life
on those blighted plains.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Man-Thing

I've always had a fondness for Marvel Comics' Man-Thing since I first saw him in Marvel Teamup #68.  Something in this simple guardian of the Nexus of All Realities appealed to me.  That particular issue was also the first appearance of D'spayre, one of my favorite Marvel concept entities.  I've drawn Man-thing before here and D'spayre as well.  Although Morbius got posted first, this piece was actually the first Saturday Sketch I did.

{2.5x3.5, created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio and appreciation purposes only. 

From the Archives: Loose Twisting Zombie Sketch

Within this sketch, you can see that I was fighting the looseness a bit.  The essence of the loose style is present, but I don't feel that is it as successful as the slender zombie I presented last week.  I feel like the fault lies with the detail.  Although in some areas it works better than others, the arm for instance, but I feel like it flattens other areas, the legs and shoulder.  This one also belongs to the 11x17 folded set.

{11x17,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: A Room at the Alta Viso

Rocco waited until the last car had passed before he slid under the plastic tarp and into the building.  The sun was almost set and in the long shadows he was sure no one could see him.  He moved quietly through the dust and darkening rooms.  On cold nights, the Alta Viso building was his secret spot, at least for now. 

The second night he'd slept here, Rocco overheard two contractors discussing the pending renovation of the Alta Viso.  The old business plaza had approval pending as an historical landmark.  This meant that any renovations were on hold until the approval passed. From the way the contractors had talked, it sounded like the process would take months.  Rocco had slept here every night since.

As he snuck through the lobby and past the scaffolding he noticed the doorway to the basement hung ajar.  The fetid odor of rot and sewage drifted up through the open door.  No renovations there yet, he thought.  He rushed up the stairs.

Psyche Delectus: Red Satyr

He is the throne of his own desire.

Saturday Sketch: Classic Morbius, the Living Vampire

Welcome to the Zombie Bites Saturday Sketch!

The Saturday Sketch is a way for me to familiarize myself with and practice drawing popular dark characters from different genres.  I'll be focusing primarily on superhero universes that involve dark, occult, or magical characters.  However, I think over time the subjects may bleed over into other fictional works with dark or supernatural aspects. 

To double the challenge, I'm giving myself very little time to finish each piece.  I'm not allowing myself to work on each piece longer than a single sitting, about two to four hours.  The goals for me are speed and veracity of representation.